Swinging By The City On A Rainy Night
by williamriverdale
Summary: Whose city is this, I think I know, His house is in the Queens though; He may see me prowling here, To watch his city fill up with blood! New York is in the rains, but a hero's work is never done. While patrolling the city, Spider-Man finds himself in a situation which may lead to death and destruction. But, he gets help from unexpected places. Still, will it be enough?
1. Whose Woods Are These

A lone figure sat perched on top of the Chrysler Building. It was nighttime in New York and it was raining. It was one of the heaviest rain the city had ever seen. Drops after drops of water pelted the figure. The falling water ricocheted off his body in miniature showers.

The figure stared at the city of New York below him. The night hid him, giving him an appearance of a shadow with two big white lenses where his eyes were supposed to be, giving the figure a look of eeriness and sinister.

A bright light shone red hot into the skies, illuminating the person for just a split-second. In the slipping grasps of the time, the figure was no longer strange nor terrible to behold. It was New York's protector, Spider-Man.

He was red and blue while black webs adorned them. The black spider which spun the webs was perched at the center of the web, the strands meeting catching up to it on his chest.

The second ended and so did the light. Spider-Man returned back to a phantom in the night.

A terrible thunder soon followed the trail of the lightning. The sound was loud and reverberated inside Spider-Man's chest, yet he remained unmoved. He knew he was in no danger.

Spider-Man stood up. He closed his eyes and breathed through his mouth. He was used to it by now, breathing through a mask. He thought when he was starting out, he used to fear he would suffocate. He had to take breaks, put up his mask and get oxygen, unfiltered. But now he had adapted to the fabric. Like a second skin, sometimes, he didn't even know he was wearing a mask. Sometimes, Peter Parker pulled his cheek in public, as if to adjust the elastic veil wrapping his entire head. It was like a second skin. Being Spider-Man had become normal. Too normal.

He listened to the pitter-patter of the rain while surrounded by darkness. He closed his eyes and stood up, stretching his arms wide.

"Here we go," Spider-Man said.

He let his body fall forwards into the city below.

Spider-Man fell and soon he was lateral, his front faced the gloomy and raining sky, while the spider insignia on his back greeted the streets far below it.

The rain drops were still tapping at his face. He felt them hit, their sound entered into his ears, but his eyes remained closed. His body started accelerating downwards and little by little, the drops stopped hitting.

Peter did a quick calculation in his head.

 _Initial speed is zero. Final speed, freefall, is 53 meters per second. Acceleration, 9.8 meters per second per second. …Will get there in 5.4 seconds. Height of fallen like a rock, 143 meters. Meh, I can make it._

Three seconds had already passed. On the fourth second, the drops were struggling to touch him. On the fifth second, the drops gave up.

Spider-Man felt the blare of the wind at the sides of his face. His heart pounded in his chest. The adrenaline rushed to his muscles in assist.

 _Any time now,_ Spider-Man thought, the rain still clear in his ears. _Feels like classic music._

Then, a fast tingling sensation came. It started at the back of his neck, warning him of the danger of falling down on the ground. _Time for action._

Guided by the sensation, without a peek, Spider-Man shot a web-line in the dark. He didn't hear it stick and the line remained lax in his hand. He didn't shoot another.

He kept falling and falling. Spider-Man now was able to hear the horns of the vehicles on the street. No matter what, this noise never stopped. Soon, he would hit the ground.

Just then, the line web in his hand went taut.

His trajectory curved. He started to swing in an arc. Another fast tingle, now stronger, scratched his head. He knew it meant he still was going to hit the ground.

Spider-Man pulled on the web-line. He felt the web tense under the weight and force of his body, but it was strong and held without breaking. The force of his pull was enough for him to rise a couple height up in a backward somersault. He opened his eyes, and there the ground was, maybe the height of a car away from his face. The rain had started pelting him again.

"I think I made a new record," Spider-Man smiled under his mask. "Spider-sense, good job again today. See you at work tomorrow."

Adjusting himself, Spider-Man let of the web-line go. It zipped away like stretched rubber. At the peak of his leap, he shot another and pulled, this time properly in his signature swinging style.

"New York," said Spider-Man, his voice sounding muffled in the rain. "It looks beautiful even when it is in a downpour. Never change—except for the better, of course."

New York was glowing with its own lights. Cars and taxis still moved along their daily business. People went to their ways, under umbrellas, under raincoats, some without, running to find shelter from the rain.

"Don't slip and fall," Spider-Man said to himself as buildings passed him by.

Even in such conditions, there were some people who saw him as if floating up and down the air, the pale white web-lines almost invisible in the low lights in the sky. They waved at him, both the kids and the adults, with smiles. He waved back with a smile under his mask. Peter felt nice being waved at, to be trusted.

Another citizen looked at him and this time, Spider-Man waved, swinging on his left arm. She gave him the middle finger.

Taken aback and embarrassed, Spider-Man swung away making a sharp left to another block.

"Ok, this is why gruff and no-nonsense superheroes are said to cooler," Spider-Man said and sighed. "Still you can't be annoyed with me if you didn't bring a coat with you. I am just trying to be friendly, you know."

Just then, his spider-sense started working again. It was unlike before though. While before, it was quick, telling him of the danger of being a red and blue paintwork on the ground, but now it was soft, like an annoying itch. It said danger was nearby, but not lethal at the moment.

Spider-Man redirected himself to a nearby building and stuck to the side of a wall upside down.

"I hate when this happens," Spider-Man said in a quiet voice. "Now my neck itches and I am wearing gloves. A threat is close, yet I don't know where it is."

Peter didn't like this about his spider-sense. It told him of danger, but never the direction of the danger. He thanked God for keeping him alive in his early career before his reflexes had been attuned to it. Before he was amateurish, jumping away in a supposed safe location, only to be zapped by Electro, or caught by Rhino to be used as a shake toy.

"Not one of my 'amazing' moments…"

Spider-Man could see no foul play down the street so he ran up the building to the roof. The roof was empty too, except old cigarettes butts and syringes lying around.

 _Sometimes, it just makes you question._

He scanned the city with narrowed eyes. The rain made it difficult. The buzzing was still present in his head, but he could not pinpoint the source. His mind was not thinking of good things.

Spider-Man gave a grunt of desperation as he ran and jumped over to another building after another; his eyes darting everywhere, his ears trying to pick up anything.

"Stupid, stupid rain. I can't see, I can't hear, and I don't have super smell, even if it won't do me any favors," Spider-Man said to himself, his spider-sense still ringing in the same soft tone. "And why spider-sense? Why can't you be like 'Hot and Cold'? Why surrounding danger and imminent ones only?"

As if to answer his question, Peter's spider-sense started to ring aloud. Spider-Man was standing confused on the edge of the eighth building. He jumped and shot a web-line in reflex to the next building, landing on the wall. Behind him, he heard the sound of something sharp tear the concrete behind him. "Not the answer I wanted!"

When he looked behind him, there was nobody. However, there were two jagged lines on the place where he was standing a moment ago.

 _Claws,_ Spider-Man thought. _Going for my legs, eh. I think my torso's way more handsome. Not an invitation though._

Spider-Man crawled up to the roof. He balanced himself on the edge and pushed himself flying to the center, landing in a quiet perch on the wet floor.

"Alright, villain of the day with leg fetish, I am here."

Spider-Man concentrated in his surroundings. Any other person was a sitting duck in the open, but not him.

 _Spider-sense! From the back!_

Spider-Man made an about turn and saw the silhouette charging at him. Like a gunslinger, he quickly shot two web pellets at the slender figure.

 _A girl? Now, what did I do this time?_

The web pellets hit the person, one on the shoulder and one right on the face, making her stagger.

Spider-Man groaned, trying to imagine the pain. "Okay, that made me cringe myself."

Spider-Man's web-shooters were designed to shoot small hardened web balls to give him some range combat techniques. It was too much of a hassle to be going in hand-to-hand combat with the likes of Shocker, Sandman, and his favorite buddy to do close fights with, Electro. Hence, the upgrade.

While web pellets worked, they worked a little too well. The web-pellets were dispensed at high-speed and they were hard like rocks.

Spider-Man had broken a pursesnatcher's nose while testing it out. He was horrified when he saw the blood.

Peter had tried to fix the issue, but it was not so simple.

On one hand, he could decrease the velocity of the pellets, but that would mean he needed to decrease the pressure of the web-fluid. He wouldn't be able to throw a farther web-line, and his web spray would be would just trickle down.

Another way to change the composition of the web fluid which already sounded stupid to Peter. If he changed it to make softer pellets, his web-lines would snap under the weight they were performing now.

Peter did think of using different cartridges—one to store his original one, and the other with the lower pressured web-pellets. He called his original, web cartridges and the new ones, 'web magazines'. He was actually proud of the naming.

But again, changing the cartridges, mid-flight, was a hassle. He needed to swing too. One arm was not enough. The last one was an automatic cartridge changing shooter, but he was poor.

 _Plus having multiple cartridges is quite distracting. I will leave the technical gadgetry to Tony Stark, thank you very much._

The girl stared at Spider-Man and Spider-Man noticed two long claws protruding from hands.

 _Oh, I missed that. Thank god, I missed that._

The girl growled, and unlike a human's, the growl sounded closer to a feral beast. Her wet hair stuck to her face. She took a stance and was ready to pounce.

Spider-Man gulped. "Parley?"

She closed the distance faster than Peter expected. Spider-Man was sure she must be a meta-human. Nobody could move so fast.

The girl went for an upward right slash with her left claws but Spider-Man caught her hand with little effort. Before she could retaliate, he grabbed her right hand by the wrist, the claws still out. "Alright, enough with the shish-kababbing."

She tried to tear her hands away, but Spider-Man was too strong. When she could not get out of his inhuman grip, the girl tried to perform a diagonal upward kick to him which was easily dodged. When the leg reached its arc's peak, Spider-Man was ready to finish it.

 _A nice leg sweep and I will web her—spider-sense!_

The tingling was now screaming. Spider-Man bended his body backward far greater than a contortionist. He stared, mouth agape at the descending leg which now had a long sharp claw coming out of her boot. It sliced the air where his head was at a moment before.

Spider-Man had enough. This person was no joke. She was dangerous and it meant she needed to be stopped. Spider-Man let her hands go and somersaulted away. Getting close was madness.

Both stared at each other. Spider-Man was now wary of her and felt she was doing the same, thinking of making the next move. Something made him think she was not expecting him to be so strong. Was it a misunderstanding? Was it somebody else she was trying to kill?

The rain was still pouring. Peter had nearly forgotten about the rain.

"Alright," Spider-Man said in a gentle tone. "It seems we have not met in the best of terms. I mean no harm to anybody so why are you trying to kill me?"

The girl didn't answer. She looked at him without blinking. Spider-Man felt a strange feeling, like he had seen her before, but hadn't seen her before. He didn't the time to think it through though.

"Hm, Wilson Fisk? Tombstone? Did any enemy of mine send you to off me?"

A dark pallor went over the girl's face. It was gone as soon as it came, replaced by a look of such unbridled anger, Peter found himself feeling intense fear.

There was another thunder and Spider-Man was able to properly see her. Her face was twisted in anger.

"Shut up!" the girl said. Her voice came clear to Peter even in the rain. She ran at him again and Spider-Man readied himself.

 _Come on, Parker. You have taken stronger and deadlier._

The girl jumped at him. Spider-Man shot more web-but, but she cut through them, forcing him to dodge. "Wow, those nails are sharp, miss! Ever thought of having polished? Red might suit you."

The girl answered by swiping her claws at him. Spider-Man bend to the ground as the claw slashed above, but he had no time to relax for her foot claw near found his left eye. Quick as a spider, he crawled underneath her legs, missing the arc of the long blade. The girl had a look of revulsion on her face and Spider-Man could not blame her. Few times he was caught on video, and it made Peter's skin crawl at the movements he himself was performing sometimes. _I still can't believe my back didn't break one time._

Finding himself behind the girl, he didn't give her the time to recover. He shot a web-line at her back and tried to swing her to the roof entrance wall, where he could web her hands and feet. But, as he applied the necessary force to match the weight of the girl, he found there was nobody. The web-line was cut by the girl in less than a second.

Spider-sense flared in Peter's head. He craned his neck almost ninety degrees as the two long knives nearly spilled his brains. He twisted his body for a punch, but his hand was caught and Peter soon found himself airborne, the floor approaching. Using only the fingertips of one hand, he performed a smooth handstand as he kept track of the girl.

"Impressive throw, I must say," Spider-Man said, putting himself in a perch and giving a thumbs up. "So, you are trained in the art of throwing innocent people around."

The girl growled. "Stop talking."

"Stop attacking," Spider-Man countered.

Her face scrunched. She ran at him, claws on the ready. Spider-Man rolled his eyes. _Here we go again._ "Come at me, bro."

Spider-Man dashed a few steps and jumped over her, aiming his wrists upon her. He was ready to empty his shooters if required.

"Both of you enough!" a sudden voice called.

Spider-Man stopped himself while landed away from the girl. She had stopped too at hearing the voice too.

Spider-Man looked towards the sound, finding the voice familiar to him. He saw a figure standing on the roof of another building, clad in a brown coat and faded jeans. The man was unmistakable. Only one person had such weird hair.

"Logan," Spider-Man called out in suspicion.

The figure cocked his head towards Spider-Man. "Yeah, that's me, webhead,"—the man made a gesture to the girl in black—"and the girl you have been annoying is my daughter."

Peter's eyes widened behind his lenses. He looked at the girl, then back at Wolverine. He looked back at the girl and then back at Wolverine. He again looked back at the girl, then—

"You are dragging the joke way too far," Logan deadpanned.

"I, I am confused," Spider-Man said scratching his cheek. "I mean now I know why she seemed so familiar to me, but what—"

 _Spider-sense!_

"Laura! Don't!" Logan's shout was clear. "He's not the one."

The girl, now known as Laura, was trying to creep up to him for a strike. She made a face showing her disdain but sheathed her claws nonetheless.

Spider-Man just looked at Logan. "What is up with her?"

"She's got some issues," Logan sighed.

"She likes Captain America comics too?" Spider-Man said.

"Like you haven't had a shit ton of issues yourself."

"Are we still talking about the comics?"

"You tell me."

"No, I ask the questions, Wolvie. Why was she trying to kill me?"

"Spider-Man, let us get some place a little less wet first."

Spider-Man looked at Logan and then at Laura. Both seemed to be drenched. It made him feel sorry for them, a little bit less for Laura, but still sorry.

"I know a place we can use," Spider-Man said, finally relaxing his stance.

 **To Be Continued**

 **A/N: This story was meant to be a one-shot but I found it was too long. Therefore, I have decided to cut it in three chapters which I think works better. Chapter two will be up very soon.**


	2. Woods Are Lovely, Dark And Deep

Spider-Man jumped from roof to roof with Logan and Laura in tow. He could have web swung, but following him might be difficult in such way.

Both father and daughter were agile as they jumped from one building to another. Their leaps were higher than what a human could perform. Laura leaped farther and more gracefully from what he could see, while what surprised him the most was Logan.

Spider-Man knew Logan had a skeleton of indestructible metal called adamantium. What boggled his mind was how when he landed, Logan made little to no sound. Concerning his weight, Peter thought resounding stomps should be heard, but Logan was as silent as a ninja and Laura too.

Spider-Man took the two to a building near his own apartment. It was an abandoned one, had a bathroom, and hence, was perfect for relaxing or when the call of nature proved too much for the superhero. Furthermore, he had stashed some food and extra web fluids in there. You never know when you could run out while dodging bullets, sand, horns, whips or tails.

Spider-Man pointed at a window of a unlit building. "There it is, guys. My secret hideout."

Looking at the two, Spider-Man saw both were not even the least bit impressed. Spider-Man felt annoyed. "It's cozier inside."

"Whatever," Logan said, Spider-Man noticing Laura stayed silent throughout the run. "How do we get there? I think I can jump and use my claws to get to the window."

"No, please," Spider-Man said. "The last thing I want is people to question why there are claws marks near the window and come to the room to check it out."

"So what now?"

"I carry you two one by one."

"No way."

"Why not?"

"I am not going to be carried by you."

"Logan, we can go back and forth for the entirety of the night."

"…Fine."

"Glad you agreed," Spider-Man said in a cherry voice.

Peter grabbed Logan by the waist while Logan draped an arm over him. "You are enjoying this, aren't you?"

Spider-Man threw a web-line. "Nope."

Spider-Man jumped off with Logan and found his line sagged from the weight of Logan. It was the first time Spider-Man felt Wolverine's weight. He knew adamantium was dense but now felt it. The web didn't snap, but they both went with a lot of momentum. Nearing the wall, Spider-Man released the line and stuck to the wall using his feet and left hand.

He gave a groan as he felt the force. "Okay, that was fun. Wolvie, maybe you should cut back on the pizzas, you know."

"I am so close to slicing you," Logan said.

"There, there. Everything's alright. Spidey is here. Now, go through the window and be a good boy. I will be right back."

Logan opened the window and scrambled inside. As Spider-Man went for Laura, he heard a thud and followed by a swear behind him making him snicker.

He landed on the roof where Laura was standing in the rain, his arms folded.

 _This is not awkward. This is not awkward._

"Uh, your turn," Spider-Man said.

Spider-man thought she would keep staring at him, but to his surprise moved beside him. _Great, Pete. Now you are embarrassed to even touch her._

Spider-Man knew the awkwardness would increase if he didn't say something in the next one second.

"Alright, Laura. Uh, grab on to my neck," Spider-Man said.

Laura put her arms around Spider-Man while he didn't move an inch like a bomb would blow up if he did.

"Okay, don't wring my neck," Spider-Man said and jumped and braced himself for the weight. But the weight never came. Spider-Man was now just plain confused. Laura's weight felt just like any normal person's to him. He thought she had adamantium in her bones. Was he wrong?

Landing on the wall, Spider-Man looked at Laura. "Spidey express has reached the window. Please, while departing, be sure to have all your belongings and watch for the gap towards the window."

Laura stared at him, but it was not a hostile look. She looked concerned for him. "Hehe, uh, I am not crazy. It was just a joke, yeah."

* * *

Inside the apartment, all three of them made themselves comfortable, or as comfortable as they could have made themselves. There were no chairs in the apartment. The only furniture was a bed in the bedroom and a fairly old and thin table in the living room. There was no water nor lighting. Spider-Man had to light an electric lantern he had kept.

What Peter did have was a mat which he spread in the living room. He didn't feel anything before, but now there were other people, he felt a little stupid for not having any proper furniture. "Sorry, haven't worked on the home decor yet and also, I don't have any clothes or towels for you."

"Don't sweat it. We are not really guests," Logan said as he ignored the mat and sat against a corner. "You won't have any cigars here, would you?"

"Nope," Spider-Man said. "Why would I have cigars? I don't want cancer."

Laura leaned against the wall beside Logan. She still had the frown on her face.

Now, in the better light of the room, Peter could see her and found she looked pretty. She seemed close to his age too. But, the thing which made him gawk was the amount of leather adorned on her. She was wearing a leather jacket over a black vest, leather pants, and leather thigh-high boots. Peter didn't judge people for what they were wearing but at the moment only one thing went through his mind. _Emo._

"You really like leather, eh?" Spider-Man muttered.

She gave him a dirty look.

Spider-Man put his hands up. "Forget what I said. Logan, care to explain why Laura has enhanced version of your feelings towards me?"

"I am right here," Laura said, breaking her silence. "You attacked us."

"No, I didn't. _You_ attacked me. Nearly killed me, remember?" Spider-Man countered.

"You attacked us before and that time I just tried to take your legs out."

A look of deadpan was hidden under Peter's mask. "Not feeling any better…"

"The thing is," Logan said in a loud voice, catching both of their attention. "She made a mistake. She thought you were somebody else, the son of a bitch who attacked us."

"Language, Wolvie, there are youngsters here."

There was a distinct sound of 'sknit'. "I am not a kid."

"Is she always like this?" Spider-Man asked with a tired sigh.

"Well, it _is_ you, webhead," Logan shrugged and got serious. "Back to the topic. What happened was Laura and I was making our way through the city, keeping out of sights and out of trouble. We happen upon an alleyway when this, this _thing_ jumps on out of nowhere and tears my neck a new one."

"Wait, it bit you?" Spider-Man asked, trying to think of super-villains who bite people.

"No, it tried to eat me."

"What?" Spider-Man said, standing up. "What was it?"

"I didn't see it," Logan said. "Laura scared it away and the only thing I could see, craning my bleeding neck, was a shadow crawling away on the walls."

"It was dressed in all red and was fast," Laura added.

"And your first guess was me?" Spider-Man asked.

"No, bub— listen, the thing is, the creep smelled like… _you._ Still didn't think it was you."—Logan gave a frown towards Laura—"Laura, on the other hand, decided to take off after him without listening to me first."

Logan continued. "Kid, how many times have I told you to listen to me? You can't go by yourself here."

"I can handle myself, Logan," Laura said without meeting his eyes.

' _Logan'? Oh boy, things seem to be not so swell between the two._

"It is not handling yourself, Laura. It is about listening to your superiors. You attacked Spider-Man and God knows what you would have done."

"He is the one," Laura said, raising her voice. "As you said, he smells the same and I smell blood on him. Traces which must have been washed in the rain. His whole body reeks of it."

Logan narrowed his eyes at Laura's tone. "That's the smell of his own blood."

Laura wasn't fazed. "Now you can distinguish the smell of blood?"

"No, and I don't need to. I know him. It either is his or… somebody caught in an accident."

The sound of a clap made the attention return to the third occupant.

"I am here too you know," Spider-Man said. "Aside from you two creepily smelling me, stop doing that by the way, I think I have a cannibal on my hands roaming the city for all we know."

Spider-Man walked back and forth, thinking of what to do. Every second was precious here. There was another lunatic roaming freely in the streets. But, there was one other question.

"What are you guys doing here anyways?" Spider-Man asked. "No offense if you are sightseeing, but I get a feeling you are not here to taste the local hot-dogs or go singing in the rain."

"We were really here to do some sightseeing," Logan said, making Laura give Logan a look of annoyance.

"Wait a minute? Really?" Spider-Man asked surprised.

"Yeah, it was not raining like this in the day. I wanted La—"

"We are wasting time here," Laura spoke, catching both their attention. "I think we have seen enough. Let's get the hell out of here."

A small displeasure went through Logan's face. Peter himself was getting annoyed at Laura's hostility. But, he could not blame her. If she was anything like Wolverine, then she was distrustful. She still didn't trust him and neither did Logan at the start.

"I am sorry you two had to go through such an experience," Spider-Man said, guilt in his voice. "Honestly, I don't even know such a dangerous person was here. I think I will have to patrol the night in search for him."

"We will help," Logan said and brandished his claws. "Got a score to settle."

"Um, let's not get dicey," Spider-Man said. "And really, you don't need to. This is my responsibility."

"Don't give me the 'responsibility' sthick. We can help you track him faster and cover more ground at the same time."

Spider-Man seemed he was going to object, but he closed his mouth at the last part. "Fine, but no killing and thanks for the assist."

"What do we do? This is your city," Logan asked.

"We split up," Spider-Man said, having both of their attentions. "I will take the east section while you guys take the north."

"That is good and all, but can you really find him in this rain?"

Spider-Man knew it to be true. He knew New-York like the back of his hand, but it didn't help here.

"You are right," Spider-Man said. "One of you should come with me. It might be easier to track. I think Laura should come with me."

"What?" Spider-Man asked, confused.

"You trying to put moves on her?" Logan asked.

"Wha-what? No, no, no. You, you got it wrong!" Spider-Man said, embarrassed and sputtering over his own words. It didn't help Laura was giving him the evil eye. "I thought I could web swing with one to make it faster. I would take you Wolvie, you are quite fetching, but you are too heavy from what I know from before. But hey, if you were lighter, you would be my pick any time—okay, I get it. Put the claws away, please."

Logan gruffed re-sheathing his claws. "Don't try anything."

"Hey, I am not such kind of person," Spider-Man said, taking out his cell-phone from the small compartment on his waist. "Do you have a cellphone on you?"

"I have," Laura said, pulling it out of her jacket. It was still dry.

"Uh, great. We, uh, should exchange numbers to you know, contact each other if we find anything, yeah." Spider-Man said, feeling the embarrassment from Logan's earlier remark.

"Didn't you just say you were not 'such kind of person'?", Logan asked, folding his arms.

"For God's sake, Logan, stop making this more embarrassing!"

* * *

Spider-Man and Laura had exchanged their numbers. Laura's phone was handed over to Wolverine who put it inside his coat.

"Alright," Spider-Man said."We should head—"

Spider-Man's phone started ringing. He checked it and slapped himself hard on the face.

"What's the matter, Spider?" Logan asked, concerned.

"I, I gotta take this. This will just take a minute," Spider-Man said, moving into the bedroom and closing the door behind him.

Peter picked up the incoming call, pulling up his mask to talk. "Hello, Aunt May?"

"Peter," the concerned voice of May Parker came over the cell which made Peter close his eyes and grit his teeth. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I am so, so sorry, Aunt May. I, I, forgot."

"It's ok, dear."

"It's not okay. This is what, the seventh time?"

"Peter, it happens. I know you could never keep me waiting if you knew."

A deep sorrow came upon Peter. He was supposed to visit Aunt May tonight yet he forgot. "I am so sorry."

"Oh, shut up you. It is raining cats and dogs today. I wouldn't want you to catch a cold for me."

 _I would catch a thousand bullets for you, Aunt May,_ he didn't say.

Peter hated himself. "I will _definitely_ come tomorrow."

"Of course, I will be waiting. You are at your apartment, right?"

Peter didn't like to lie—"Yes, I am."—but, he could not say where he was and trouble her more.

"Good, now go to sleep. Your boss must have made you run through the whole city taking pictures of Spider-Man."

Peter chuckled at his aunt's accurate guess. Jonah had been running him all day today. "Well, I gotta go now, Aunt May. Will see you tomorrow, I promise."

"Good night, Peter."

Peter ended the call, his fist was white. He felt like trash for making Aunt May wait and not even come. He reprimanded himself, trying to shift his attention to larger happenings. There was a killer on the loose, he told himself. He had to find him.

Peter fixed his mask and went back to the living room to find only Laura standing there. She had her arms folded; tapping away at her elbow.

Spider-Man looked around and sighed. "He went, didn't he?"

Laura nodded. "Are we going now?"

"Yeah, we are. He has the phone?"

Laura nodded.

"Time for patrol," Spider-Man said.

* * *

It was ten p.m. Spider-Man swung through the city with Laura on his back. He had made sure to make her torso stick to him, so she wouldn't slip, his suit became very slippery when wet. It took a bit of focus to do this, but not enough to strain him. The rain was still raging on.

Spider-Man kept his eyes on the ground. In these situations, Spider-Man really loved his spider-sense. When chasing bad guys or searching, he could focus on observing and not on where he was aiming. It was like auto-pilot.

"Hm, all seems good," Spider-Man mused to himself. "What does your super nose say, Laura?"

"There are many smells, but not of the red one."

"You sure my smell is not making it harder. You did say the person smelled like you."

"Yes," Laura said. "But now I can notice the subtle difference. …I made a mistake."

"Hey, no biggie, mistakes happen."

"Not from me."

"Perfectionist, are we?"

"…"

Spider-Man sighed. _There she goes bottling up again._

"You really are Wolverine's daughter," Spider-Man said.

"Huh?"

Spider-Man throws a web-line and swings down and up, the air and rain cool against his mask. "Just the way you two act. 'I am tough, don't mess with me, bub.'"

The impression was exaggerated. Laura felt like the person she was with was a total fool. "You are an idiot."

Spider-Man laughed which confused Laura. He performed a mid-air roll, making Laura tighten her hold on his neck.

"Stop that!" Laura said.

"Oops! I got carried away, sorry."

"Why did you laugh?" Laura asked.

"Hm, what?"

"I called you an idiot, but you laughed."

"Oh, that. Well, everybody considers me an idiot. Even I do at times. But what made me laugh was Logan said the same thing. Sure, he was swearing at me, but it was pretty much the same. Oh, also trying to cut me in two."

"Logan and you were enemies?" Laura asked, intrigued.

"Not enemies enemies. More like 'why you are so angry and trying to kill me, I am innocent, eat this web' enemies. Now that I think about it, isn't this how we met too?"

Laura snorted.

"You can open your eyes, you know," Spider-Man said, trying to hide a snicker.

"What?"

"You have them closed since the beginning."

"How did you—"

"Saw it when passing by a glass building. Do you want me to go slower?" Spider-Man asked in a gentle voice.

"I am not afraid of heights."

"As you say," Spider-Man said, as he made a turn. His eyes grew wide and he said in a voice full of boyish awe. "Whoa, Laura, you gotta see this. Look down."

Laura tried to give a scoff, but it died midway when she opened her eyes and saw the view before her.

They had come upon a very bright section of New York. Spider-Man dubbed it the Sunny Corner. Yellow, red and orange lights were given off by the buildings. Spider-Man always felt it looked beautiful, but now it was just mesmerizing to both of the airborne superheroes.

The falling rain acted like a veil, blurring the lights which were being reflected everywhere. Raindrops looked like they had light in them, small yellow dew falling onto the ground below. The vision before them was a sight to behold.

Spider-Man swung them to a nearby building and they gazed at the marvel of rain and light.

Spider-Man took out his cell-phone. "Please don't die, please don't die."

Meanwhile, Laura's eyes scanned the overall place. She had never seen a sight before. It was breathtaking and… she liked it. She absorbed the view as if trying to paint it in her mind forever.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Spider-Man said beside her pulling her out of her trance-like state. "It is amazing to see New York can look like this. It makes me happy."

Laura couldn't mistake the tone of sadness in Spider-Man's voice. She was confused at such an emotional change from the masked protector. She wondered about the face behind the mask.

It took a moment before Spider-Man saw Laura staring at him instead. _Oh god, did I say something weird?_

"Um, isn't it weird? We were fighting each other a while ago in the dark and now, look at us, enjoying a view in the lights. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Spider-Man said in a carefree voice, making cartoonish hand gestures.

Before Laura could say anything, Spider-Man's phone started vibrating in his pocket. "Hello, who is this?"

"It's me, Webs."

"Oh Logan, did you find anything?" Spider-Man asked, catching Laura's attention.

"Found more than what I wanted," Logan said with a sigh which made Spider-Man nervous. He steadied himself.

"We are coming. Where are you?"

* * *

Spider-Man flew through New York fast. In every swing, he pulled on his web-line, increasing his momentum faster and faster. He was traveling quicker than the cars. Laura focused on her surroundings.

"I smell Logan," Laura called out and pointed. "There, the alleyway."

"Alleyways aren't good news," Spider said in a grim voice.

Spider-Man slowed down and dropped on the alley without a sound. Laura got off from his back and looked around. Her enhanced eyes saw Logan standing few feet in front of them in dark. Spider-Man saw him too. They walked towards him. "Logan, what did you—"

Spider-man cut himself off when he saw the dark patches swirling on the wet floor.

Blood?" Spider-Man asked, looking down and gasped.

It is," Laura said, finding a pool of blood mixed with the water below her feet.

"Is, is this the red one's?" Spider-Man asked.

Logan turned to look at them, his face sorrowful. Spider-Man and Laura saw a body lying before him. From the clothes, she looked like a homeless woman. She was staring above with mouth agape. His neck was bloodied. It was torn apart. "I am sorry, Spidey."

"No," Spider-Man whispered.

Laura went past a shaken Spider-Man and kneeled to take a look at the woman. A horrified expression was stuck on the woman's face. She sniffed and among the odor of the woman and her blood, she found the smell. "It is the red one's work."

Laura touched some of the blood. "Still warm, less than twenty minutes."

"Logan, what happened?" Spider-Man asked as he stared at the lifeless body of the woman. _I could have saved her…_

"I had caught a scent of it. Was following it before I heard this woman's scream. When I got there, bastard had been chomping on her neck. It jumped away as soon as it saw me," Logan said, leaning on the wall. "It was not human. It had a jaw full of teeth and lenses like yours, Spider-Man."

"Lenses like mine," Spider-Man muttered, a horror starting to grow in him. "But, the symbiote is gone."

"What are you talking abou—" Laura's speech was cut short. She saw a shadowy figure descend upon the unsuspecting superhero. "Spider-Man, watch out!"

Laura's voice speared into Peter's head. _Danger? But my spider-sense…_

He saw it. A darker shadow upon his own his own on the ground.

Spider-Man rolled forwards as a figure dropped on his previous spot, impaling the ground with some sort of spear.

Logan and Laura both unsheathed their claws.

"Fucker! You were still here!" Logan growled.

The figure came into the little light coming from the streets. Laura was not believing the monstrosity ahead of her. She had seen some pretty horrifying things, but the thing before her made a shiver travel up her spine. It was a humanoid looking creature, covered in blood-red muscles from head to toe. As Logan said, its eyes were like Spider-Man's but they moved. It was disgusting to him. Furthermore, its mouth was filled with teeth, not rows of teeth, but the whole mouth was brandishing miniature spears.

"What the fuck is this thing?" Laura asked.

"Venom?" Spider-Man asked, not believing it was back.

A sound came out the creature. As it grew, it turned into a disturbing laughter. There was nothing human about it. It was guttural and sharp as fingernails on a chalkboard.

" **No, Spider-Man,"** It said. **"We are not Venom. We are different. We are strong. We are deadly. We are Carnage!"**

"I have heard enough," Logan said and went for the creature.

Carnage gave a sound which sounded like a giggle. He raised up the spear and it shook and deformed, turning into a hatchet.

 _Too slow,_ Logan thought but he was wrong.

In a split second, Carnage brought down the hatchet, his earlier slowness probably meant as a trick. There was no way for Logan to dodge it so he brought up claws against the arc of the blade. The blades struck the claws and a loud clank resounded throughout the alley.

" **You tasted good,"** Carnage said in glee, his other hand forming into a sword-like weapon. **"I am gonna eat ya!"**

Logan gritted his teeth. He could not move while he was holding off the blade. _This thing is too strong!_

From the corner of his eyes, Logan saw two web-lines stick to the walls and knew what was coming. In less than a second, two feet struck Carnage's head with so much force, Logan felt it vibrate on his claws.

But, it didn't work. Carnage stood undaunted and Spider-Man found his feet were being held in place by the symbiotic substance. **"Spider-Man, you join too. Our hunger is large."**

A slithering and slimy long tongue protruded out from Carnage's mouth, trying to lick Spider-Man. Spider-Man webbed Carnage's mouth in disgust.

"Nope, spiders and wolverines are off the menu," Spider-Man said as he struggled to free himself. Carnage had pulled off the web without any effort, but Peter didn't need to wait long.

Laura came dashing and jumped towards the wall. She then kicked off it, and cut both arms of Carnage clean off of him.

Spider-Man felt the hold weaken and shooting a web-line behind, pulled himself away. Logan retreated back himself.

Instead of showing any pain, a grin was planted on Carnage's face. Before Laura knew it, the two limbs had turned to slime and jumped on her back, starting to spread through her clothes into her skin.

"Get off me!" Laura shouted as she started to claw at the red viscous fluid. She had forgotten about Carnage, and before she knew it, his jaw was upon her, large enough to gobble her head.

Laura felt a something stick to her back and before she knew it, she was pulled back, her feet leaving the ground. Carnage bit the air instead and snarled.

Spider-Man caught Laura in his arms. She was still trying to pull off the goop. "Hang on, Laura."

Spider-Man grabbed the symbiote. It was slippery, but he made it stick to his hands and pulled. It started to tear off like dried glue from the hand; a glue which cut you.

Spider-Man sucked through his teeth. The symbiote was slashing little cuts in his hands and they hurt. Soon, all the slime left Laura's body and Spider-Man threw it away.

The mass struck the main body… which was dashing straight for Spider-Man!

"Oh, n—oof!"

Carnage's right arm struck Peter's stomach and Carnage jumped. Both flew right out of the alley and into mid-air New York street. Spider-Man hadn't even gasped when Carnage moved his hand and threw him straight at the building.

"Webhead!"

"Spider-Man!"

The concerned shouts of Logan and Laura were lost in the rain.

Like a rag-doll, Spider-Man's back struck the wall and was followed by his head. Two small craters appeared where he hit the wall. Spider-Man felt dizzy as he tried to think through the excruciating pain in his stomach and head. He could hear people shouting. Out of the corners of his eyes, he saw two red tendrils embed the wall at his sides.

Peter knew what was coming. _Move, Parker!_

Spider-Man stuck his hands above him and pulled with all his might. As soon as he moved out of the crater, Carnage struck it with such a force which made a tremor go through the whole building. Spider-Man looked down at Carnage's grin looking up. Tears sprung to Peter's eyes as his back and head felt like they were on fire.

"H-hey, it's my technique. Make your own," Spider-Man said, trying to hide the pain.

" **You are fast, Spider, but we are faster!"**

"Let's dance, ugly."

Carnage was strong, there was no question about it, but faster was another entire thing. Carnage jumped up at Spider-Man, jaw open. Spider-Man jumped horizontal, making Carnage miss, and shot two web-lines and pulled himself to deliver another dropkick to Carnage. Carnage moved away. _Gotcha!_

Spider-Man shot two web lines above Carnage and pulled. Carnage was too slow to stop his ascend and so his face was struck right into the wall by Spider-Man's feet.

Carnage was left disoriented by the kick, but Spider-Man was not done. He gave a quick look at the city below. Some people were watching their fight from the streets, but the road was empty.

He crouched on Carnage's head and pushed off, going like a missile. Behind him, two web-lines connected to Carnage's back flailed, and a second before they went taut, Spider-Man pulled.

Carnage, uncharacteristic to what attitude he showed before, screamed in surprise as he was pulled off the wall.

Spider-Man swung Carnage like a rock connected to a thread. As the ground came closer, so did the rock to the ground.

"The bigger they are, the harder they _slam!_ "

A thunderous sound erupted when Carnage struck the road. A small dust cloud gathered and as people backed away, terrified of the red creature laid on the ground.

Spider-Man fell into a crouch a few feet away from Carnage. He tried to stand up, but he nearly screamed when his stomach felt like it was going to spill over. The shivers spread across Spider-Man's hands and thighs. Spider-Man didn't cough for he felt he would vomit from the pain.

"Spider-Man!" Laura called out as she kneeled beside him. Logan stood at his other side eying Carnage. "Are you alright?"

"I, I am good," Spider-Man said in short breaths.

"You look like you will roll over any moment."

"Aw, is Laura worried about me? I am so blessed," Spider-Man said.

Laura rolled her eyes and helped Spider-Man to his feet.

"Webhead, Carnage is waking up," Logan said.

True to Logan's words, Carnage was up and he didn't look happy. Spider-Man looked around and found it had stopped raining.

" **It hurt. We didn't like it,"** Carnage said in a drawl.

Spider-Man balled his fists. "Oh, it hurt? How dare you say it after how you killed the lady?"

" **Hehehe,"** Carnage laughed. **"You want to be a hero? Then, save** _ **them!"**_

Spider-Man eyes widened in realization. _Oh no, I should have fought Carnage on the buildings and not bring him in the streets._

Carnage's body started to shake as he kept laughing. Five large globules separated from the main body and they took a more humanoid shape in the image of Carnage, all laughing mad. **"Go, slaughter and eat!"**

Spider-Man shouted. "Everybody, run!"

The minions of Carnage screeched as they started to chase after the running people. They went all up the streets.

"We have to save them," Spider-Man said, but Carnage stood ready.

"Laura, Spider-Man, go help the people," Logan said, cracking his neck. "Leave the freak to me."

"You sure?" Spider-Man asked eying Logan through the corner of his eyes.

"Damn sure, kid," Logan said.

"Be careful, Logan," Laura warned with concern.

Logan gave a grin and rushed forwards. Carnage was focused on Logan as the other two went to help the city-folk.

"Hey, bub," Logan said, claws twinkling. "I didn't like what you did before."

" **I will eat you whole!"** Carnage said, his face twisting into a mad smile.

Logan didn't flinch and neither did he back away. He closed the distance in a flash and performed a brutal slash at Carnage. The claws skimmed through Carnage's symbiotic flesh with little to no resistance.

Carnage growled. It was not the pain, it was the rush. He elongated his arms and used them like whips trying to strike Wolverine. It didn't help the fact they had very sharp edges.

Logan sidestepped the first swing as it stuck the ground, digging in the concrete. He knew he wouldn't be able to dodge most of them. Logan focused and stood in a stance. It was time for a different tactic.

Logan started parrying the arms like a swordsman. With his claws, he hit the heaviest section of them, the bladed edges as they were flung away.

Carnage started to grow annoyed when he saw his arms were not hitting. He wanted blood to spill. He _needed_ blood to spill. He went into a frenzy, his arms spasmed everywhere. Logan's eyes tried to follow them, but they were fast.

As Logan was busy with the arms, he never saw the foot coming. When he did, he was too late as it plunged into his stomach. He gave a scream of pain and then, he got angry. He slashed at the offending limb, cutting it off like butter.

Before Carnage could integrate himself, Logan hacked away the arms and tackled him, crashing them into a grocery store.

Having Carnage pinned to the ground, Logan started to shove his claws to his sides. Logan felt something move on his chest and found himself thrown to the roof of the store by a solid red mass which had risen out of Carnage's chest.

Logan fell in a crouch and touched his abdomen. It was healed. "How did it taste, bub?"

" **You will die,"** Carnage said

"Don't you know? I am the Wolverine!"

Wolverine ran. Carnage crawled. Both clashed, screaming at each other and going for the kill.

 **To Be Continued**

 **A/N: Hope you guys are enjoying it so far. The next will be the last chapter. Do drop a review if you have any corrections or criticisms. A review just makes a writer's day.**


	3. Miles to Go Before I Sleep

"God, save me. God, save me…"

A man hid inside his car. He was trying not to breathe too fast, yet his heart was in his mouth. He had seen a monster outside—big, red, an abomination and saw little carbon copies spawn from him.

He was hearing shouts, screams, sounds of glass shattering, metal crushing, rock smashes, all making him fear for his life. He wanted to run, but he was afraid. How many were already dead? How many had escaped? He was too afraid to look out the windshield.

Something slammed his car. The man gave a whimpering yelp he felt the car tip a little. "Oh god! God!"

He closed his eyes, feeling his time was up.

Outside his car, a dent had performed. In the dent was a battered Spider-Man. He was bleeding from many small cuts. His costume was shredded especially in the abdomen. An ugly bruise was prominent under a skin full of faded scars and healed wounds. Carnage had hit him hard.

"H-hey," Spider-Man said, looking up. "Come, come at one at a time. I promise I will treat you all fairly."

His body hurt. Everything hurt. He was feeling lightheaded. No matter how much he hurt, he never had a tolerance for pain.

Three Carnage spawns observed him, a few feet ahead of him. They didn't talk. They looked like smaller forms of the symbiote. The good news was they were weaker. Bad news was they were faster.

Spider-Man shot a web-line at the closest one's face, but it dodged his head. It didn't see another web-line was shot from the other hand and it was blinded. Spider-Man pulled it and delivered a powerful punch to its jaw.

It flew away from the force and dropped without moving. Soon, it lost its form and spread on the floor like a puddle.

Spider-Man knew it would get up. They had done it just a while ago. But he had no time to rest like it did. Soon, he was weaving under the frantic slashes of the other two symbiotes. They turned their hands into spears, hammers, axes, whips and kept up the barrage with fast movements and reactions to match him.

 _For God's sake, spider-sense, I need you here!,_ Peter thought as he snap-pressed his shooters. "Have some web-balls, you—what? No! Not now! Not now!"

The web-shooters did nothing. They had become empty.

"Why didn't the spider give me my own webbing?"

Spider-Man jumped away from the two, but then his left leg was grasped from behind.

 _The third one's up!,_ Spider-Man thought.

Spider-Man was slammed into the pavement. He cursed as his back started to scream at him. His body told him to stop moving, but he knew it would lead to his death.

"Can't sleep…must get up…"

Spider-Man was lifted to the air. His leg was still being held. "Oh…"

Spider-Man recognized the movements. He was going to be slammed again. Spider-Man pulled his torso to his knees. He grabbed the red tendril and ripped it with his bare hands. The creature screamed as Peter landed in a crouch.

 _No way I can take all three of them at once. Must get them together._

"Come here to Spidey," Spider-Man said, beckoning them with his hand.

As they moved to strike, Spider-Man leaped back. He felt tired, but he dodged as best as he could. He had to make sure it seemed like he was confronting them and not trying to take them in a certain direction.

 _Laura, where are you?_

He looked around and found her some feet away. Laura had a metal pole in her hands. Spider-Man watched wide-eyed as she bashed one of the symbiote on the head and then, hit the another so hard, it was flung to the wall.

Spider-Man made a bee-line towards her avoiding claws and teeth. The three of the symbiotes were fast, but for coming from the same host, their co-ordination was bad. They hit each other, but they didn't seem to mind it. Now as Spider-Man thought about the mentality of the host, it was not very surprising to him.

Soon, he fell aside Laura. He had little time. He took out fresh cartridges from his hidden pouch. "Hey there, partner."

Laura eyed him, trailing her eyes up and down, pausing momentarily at the bruise on his stomach. "Jesus, you look like shit."

"I think I look a lot better than that. Are you okay?"

Laura's jacket looked like a cloth hanging to her body. One of her sleeves was tattered and seemed it was being held by a thread. Claw marks marked her upper and lower body, yet Spider-Man saw no wounds on her. She also didn't seem any tired.

 _Of course, the daughter of the Wolverine. Why don't I have a healing factor this strong?_

"I will be fine," Laura said and saw the three symbiotes approach. "It seems you brought company."

Spider-Man reloaded his shooters. He felt a lot better already. "Yeah, with good reason. Symbiotes are weak to high heat."

"How does it help us?"

Spider-Man made a hand gesture to the side. Laura saw a garage and knew what he meant.

"We need to get them together to make it count," Spider-Man said, flexing his arms. "I am the decoy. Wait for the signal."

Laura ran to the garage. The symbiotes were going to follow her, but Spider-Man was not having any of it.

"Hey Carnoobs, heads up!"

The three Carnages were hit by the whole metal pole. They screamed at Spider-Man. The other two Laura had been fighting had reformed.

Spider-Man stood, three before him and two behind him. He gave a small breath, his body was full of sweat. He was anxious. He had a plan, but it needed to be laid first. There was no option for a mistake. _Come on, Parker luck. Not this time, not this time…_

"Group hug?" Spider-Man shrugged.

All five of them attacked him. Spider-Man ran to the two behind him first as fast he could. He punched the first before it could react and kicked the other in the neck with enough force to shatter a bone of a person. Spider-Man stuck his hand on both their chest and threw them like rocks at the incoming trio. Two of them were hit and tumbled down.

The third one made a giant hammer and swung it down on Spider-Man. Spider-Man didn't move away. He stopped the hammer with just his left hand's fingertips

Carnage looked surprised before it was given a solid uppercut. He soared up and fell down like a rock, groaning, and moaning.

"Hah!" Spider-Man blew air from his mouth. "You all five and a single wounded me. How embarrassing. You clowns should give up this career and become exotic animals in some zoo."

All five got up. They were not laughing anymore but shaking in anger. They were growling and gnashing their teeth and looked close to rabid dogs. But, they were not acting like Spider-Man wanted and it made his heart drop. Then, it hit him.

Spider-Man started playing with his nails. "Psshh, Venom was better, you know."

The symbiotes gave a deafening scream. Their bodies lost their shape as all five of them started to fuse with each other. When they finished fusing, the symbiote appeared like a giant. It towered over Spider-Man had four arms, all transformed in some sort of bladed weapon.

It ran straight at Spider-Man, a lot slower than it's counterparts. Spider-Man gave a smirk under his mask as he aimed both his shooters at it. The carnage behemoth didn't care and kept advancing.

"Eat this," Spider-Man said and pushed the trigger on his palms.

Its face got covered in webs. The symbiote pulled at it, but unlike before it didn't come off. Carnage pulled more and more, but the web was stronger somehow. It was more bulkier. It stopped running. It pulled at the web, and when it didn't come up, started to screech in fury!

Spider-Man started to circle it, spraying more and more webbing. It could not do anything but tried to slice the webbing. It didn't work at all. It watched helpless as it was slowly bound in a big cocoon of web.

"Laura, now!" Spider-Man called out, his web shooters running empty.

Spider-Man saw Laura overhead, two cleanly cut jerry cans in her hand.

"I have something for you," Laura said with a cold look.

She landed on top of the cocoon and poured the contents of the cans all over the struggling symbiote. The webbing absorbed the petrol and became loose. Carnage started to thrash all over when it recognized the smell.

Laura jumped off and Spider-Man saw a lighter in her hand. She lit it and threw it at the cocoon. When the flame touched the web, it burst into a huge pyre. Black smoke rose from the top while red hot flames embraced the web. Inside the cocoon, the Carnage spawn screamed in agony. The heat of the fire was inescapable. Soon, it fell to the ground, writhing and crawling at Spider-Man until it stopped. The fire burned the symbiote to ash and smoke.

Spider-Man huffed. It didn't make him feel great, burning a part of symbiote in this way even if it was a mindless and soulless monstrosity. It had a sense of pain and had been burned alive.

A hand was placed on his shoulder, waking Peter from his thoughts. Laura looked at him with a strict face, but Peter knew she was hiding. "Are you fine?"

Spider-Man remembered the pain in his body. "Beaten, but not broken."

Laura seemed unsure, giving him a look over. His suit was cut all over the place. He was battered, bruised, cut, and blood was dripping down his black web designs. She was surprised he was standing straight.

He smelled of sweat and blood. But Laura smelled something else in him. Something which confused her to no end. She smelled fear on Spider-Man. The fear of getting hurt, fear of dying, he reeked heavy of it.

"Let's go and help old Wolvie now, shall we?" Spider-Man said, gesturing with both his hands.

Laura was more confused more by how he was behaving. He acted like a clown most of the time, yet other times he was different. Laura decided it was not the time. "Okay, follow me."

Spider-Man gave a salute. He jumped and shot a web-line except the device shot nothing and Spider-Man landed back to the same spot. Laura gawked at him with the most flabbergasted face she had ever made in her life.

Spider-Man turned his back to her and changed his cartridges. "That was not embarrassing at all."

Despite herself, Laura gave a small smirk. "I thought you had filled your cartridges before."

"Uh yeah, I did. They were special cartridges. They had stronger webbing as I showed earlier. They are more dense so, I can only fill so much in a single cartridge," Spider-Man said, pulling on his gloves and added in a whisper. "Plus expensive. I don't have any more money to make another…"

"Hm, ingenious of you. We should get going."

Spider-Man nodded. Spider-Man took to the skies while Laura sprinted ahead. Spider-Man followed impressed at the speed he was showing. He wondered if he could beat her in a foot race.

They kept moving until Laura stopped a few feet away from a grocery store. The front of its glass window was smashed. Spider-Man landed aside Laura and before he could ask her anything, his spider-sense tingled.

Against his reflex, he pushed Laura away from him and saw a high-speed body being flung straight at him. He also found out he was too late to dodge.

Spider-Man gave a despondent sigh. "This is just cruel n—"

The body hit Spider-Man hard. _Not the stomach again!_

Spider-Man hit the ground with the body falling on top of him. His breath was forced out of him and he grabbed the body in the confusion. They both rolled away until finally striking a metal pole.

"Ow," Logan's voice came weak. "I am gonna feel that for a long time."

"Logan, you are too, too heavy. Get off."

"Let me heal first. The thing went crazy in a moment."

"Must be cause it's knockoffs have been offed."

"Nice."

"Get off, I am dying."

"Logan!" Laura said coming into view.

"Laura, my angel, you have come for me," Spider-Man wheezed out.

"Stop flirting with my daughter," Logan said as Laura pulled him up to his feet.

"I hope he is not right, Spider," Laura said, raising her eyebrow.

"Yeah, gang up on the good guy," Spider-Man said as he tried to get up. He nearly fell forwards both Laura and Logan caught his arms.

"Stand by us, webhead," Logan said with worry. He saw how destroyed he was looking. "Or maybe you should sit this one out."

"No, I need to end this. People are gonna get hurt. It is my responsibility."

Spider-Man stood up straight.

"You really love acting tough, don't you?" Laura asked.

"I have to," Spider-Man gave this as a reply before his spider-sense started to tingle.

Carnage came out of the store and he looked the closest to what hurt could look. There were visible slashes on his chest which were not healing. Several places it was shaking as if trying hard to maintain form. There were no more weapons in its arms, just claws. But, the smile was still there. It was there.

" **You. You will die, Spider-Man. We will prove Carnage is better than Venom. Your death will be our proof. Then, we shall feast!"**

Sickening laughter was heard all over the street.

"I think I have heard enough," Spider-Man said, narrowing his eyes.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, bub."

"This fucker owes me a jacket."

"Tuh, tuh, language."

Carnage jumped at them bringing his arms down. All of them dodged, Spider-Man started to shoot web pellets at it, while Logan and Laura tag teamed it.

"Don't you just love family bonding, Carnage?"

" **Shut up, bug."**

"I love it when they say it."

Carnage dodged the metal claws which tried to hit him. They were sharp and strong. They pierced his skin. They were sharper than the weapons he made. **"I will take those claws from your dead eaten bodies!"**

Carnage sharpened his arms and impaled both Logan and Laura on them. They cried out in pain when they felt the symbiote was trying to enter them.

"No! No!" Spider-Man's heart dropped. He shot two web-lines to Laura and Logan and gritting his teeth, he pulled them. "I am so sorry about this."

Both screamed as they were pulled out of Carnage's arms. Spider-Man caught them and laid them on the ground. Both were still in pain as Spider-Man saw the red fluid of the Symbiote had entered into their bodies. Peter didn't know what he should do right now. "Guys, hold on. I, I will fix this."

When Spider-Man saw Carnage approaching, he lost it. "Carnage!"

Shooting two web-lines on its chest, Spider-Man pulled on them to kick him. Carnage caught him and raised Spider-Man to throw him to the ground. Peter shot another web-line to the ground behind and pulled, tumbling Carnage upside down.

Spider-Man started to punch Carnage to a pulp. Carnage stabbed Spider-Man in the arm. He took out the appendage and stabbed Carnage with it, making it laugh instead.

"You murdering sociopath! Leave them alone, you hear! Leave them before I pummel you to death!"

Spider-Man kept hitting Carnage over and over until his hand was caught from behind. He looked behind and saw it was Logan.

"Logan?"

"It's me."

"I thought-"

"Healing factor. Purged the red shit out."

Logan's stomach had healed, but his clothes still had a hole in them. Laura came, too her shirt with a hole of its own. She had discarded the jacket. "We are fine. We have a healing factor, Spider-Man."

"I, I," Spider-Man could not form any words. Relief washed over him until Logan's eyes bulged out.

"What the hell?" Logan said watching past Spider-Man.

When Peter turned, he didn't saw Carnage. There was a blond man present out-cold instead of the red monster. He had red veins all over him. "This, this is the host."

"Host?" Laura asked confused. "What do you mean?"

"The symbiote is a creature which bonds to a living organism, sticking to your body like a second skin," Spider-Man said, standing up. "Honestly, if you ask me, it is more of a parasite."

"Ah, hence the name," Logan mumbled and then made a confused face. "…Where's the symbiote, then?"

Laura took a stance, trying to find the red goop. She smelled it on the unconscious man but nowhere else was she getting more signals.

"It's right here," Spider-Man said, making a gesture to the man. "The symbiote—it, it is inside of him."

"I thought you said it was like a second skin…" Laura asked.

"I thought too," Spider-Man said and somehow didn't care. He fell backward. The last thing he saw was Laura's horrified look.

* * *

Peter heard the rain. It was rhythmic and peaceful. A thunder cackled along somewhere. It's noise covered the sound of the rain until the rain was back again. He felt so light, so relaxed. He remembered a burden, a burden too large, too heavy. He didn't want it. He wanted nothing to do with it. But he knew, he needed it.

The lightness started disappearing. His relaxed mind in the state of a still pond was being pelted by rocks, disturbing him, creating chaos.

In a sudden moment, he was pulled out somewhere. The lightness was gone and he felt his weight. He felt a bed and pain on his arm.

Peter opened his eyes to see Laura bandaging his hand. His gloves were taken off and there was a bowl on the side of the bed and a bottle of antiseptic.

Peter moved his other arm to rub his mouth and felt skin. Gasping, he grabbed at his face.

"Don't worry," Laura said, pressing his chest to not make him move. "I just pulled it to your nose for you to breathe properly."

Spider-Man gave a sigh and fell back down. He closed his eyes and sucked in when his arm started flaring and everything else. "Oh God, every part hurts. Even my cheeks. Talking hurts."

"Just stop talking then. Jesus, you talk too much."

"One of my charming qualities," Spider-Man said. "Where's Wolverine and where are we?"

"Logan's gone to bring more medicine. As for the place, don't you remember your apartment?"

"Oh, you are right. How could I forget the run down look," Spider-Man joked.

"Not funny."

"I know."

Both stayed silent for a while. Spider-Man listened to the wrapping of bandages and heard the rain outside. _So, it started raining again._

"Thank you," Spider-Man said.

"Huh?" Laura looked at him, still doing her work.

"If you weren't there, I would not have been able to stop the five red dwarfs. So many would have been injured or dead. So, thank you."

Laura didn't know what to say. She felt like she had not done any great deed. She just did what she did. "I didn't want to help though. I wanted to get out of here. Logan made me stay."

Spider-Man nodded. "It was not your business and I won't hold it against you."

"You won't?"

"Yes. It is not your city nor your problem. But during the end, you were helping me a lot. Constantly asking if I was fine"—Spider-Man clasped his hands—"My hero."

Laura rolled her eyes at his antics. "I don't understand if you are trying to make feel better or make me feel annoyed."

"Why not both?"

"I can stab you now."

Spider-Man chuckled. He then remembered his arm, where Carnage had stabbed him. It was not hurting anymore. He brought his hand to the place and pressed.

"Owowowow, yep it still hurts."

"What did you do that for?" Laura asked in a deadpan voice.

"I thought it was not hurting."

"And your first reasoning was to poke it?"

"I just woke up," Spider-Man said. "What happened, by the way? Carnage, where is he?"

"Don't move. You will injure yourself further," Laura said in a strict tone. "Carnage has been taken away. Right after you were knocked out, the police had arrived and nobody was injured."

"Except the woman," Spider-Man said in a soft voice.

"Yes," Laura said. "She was dead."

Spider-Man stared at the dirty ceiling, wondering if he could have saved her. The truth was, he couldn't. There was no way he could have been there. He could not save everybody no matter how much he tried. He couldn't be everywhere. His powers felt worthless to him. The vacant eyes and the torn neck came to his mind.

"Don't think about it, bub," Logan said, entering the room, drenched.

Spider-Man didn't even hear him enter. "Hey Logan, watch where you walking. You are making my pad wet."

Logan ignored Spider-Man's joke. He knew he was changing the subject. "You always try to do the right thing. That is what matters the most. You hold others before you, Spider. Don't think it was your fault. You saved all those other people remember?"

"Laura helped me."

"Yeah, she did. But, you _did_ save those people."

"You did make the plan to burn them," Laura added in. "I was struggling to fight them. Cutting them was not working."

Spider-Man smiled under his mask. He was still not convinced, but it was nice to hear somebody praise you. "Thanks, Logan, Laura."

"Anytime, bub," Logan said and gave a look towards Laura.

"…You are welcome," Laura said, looking anywhere except Spider-Man's direction.

"So what will you guys do now?" Spider-Man asked.

"We were going to wait until you got better," Logan said, leaning against the wall, but stood straight back up when he remembered the dust. "But you don't look in good shape."

"Don't worry about me," Spider-Man said, sitting up while Laura protested. "It's okay. I have a healing factor too, albeit weaker than yours. You can go. You don't have to worry about me. I am just sorry your trip was not so amazing."

"Wasn't your fault and are you sure us leaving?" Logan asked, not liking it all all.

"Yeah, as I said don't worry. Also, I need to get back on my patrol. The night is still—"

"No," Laura said firm, grabbing both Spider-Man's shoulders, stopping him from trying to stand. "You are hurt. It is raining outside. You will reopen your wounds and bleed to death. The city has cops, right? Let them it handle this time. You just rest."

"Laura, I can't really—" Spider-Man tried to protest, but two sharp claws popping in front of his face stopped him.

"I was not asking, Spidey," Laura said, looking downright scary to Spider-Man.

"Better listen to her," Logan shrugged.

Spider-Man grabbed his chin in a thinking pose and murmured to himself.

"Well?" Laura asked, feeling hopeful. "What are you thinking?"

"About how to outmaneuver you two and fly out the window," Spider-Man said earning him a look of annoyance from Laura and a face-palm. "Okay, okay, jeez, you two are stubborn."

"Oh, pot calling the kettle black, are we?" Logan joked.

"When is this joke from? The caveman Wolverine made it?" Spier-Man returned with a chuckle. "Well, come back any time two. Next time, you will have a master guide to show you New York."

"Appreciate it," Logan said.

Laura still looked unconvinced.

Spider-Man gave a sigh and held up his pinkie. "Here, I pinkie swear you."

Laura looked at the offered hand and kept staring at it like in a trance. Spider-Man sat there wondering what was going through Laura's mind. Her face had a sense of nostalgia and sadness to it. Slowly she brought her hand and hooked her pinkie with his own.

As quick as she did it, Laura stood up. "You better keep your promise."

"I won't cheat my friends," Spider-Man said, smiling under his mask.

"Friends?" Laura asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, uh, yeah friends… if it is okay with you."

"Friends…" Laura thought of the word and gave a hint of a smile. "Sounds nice."

"Great then," Spider-Man cheered.

"Stop hitting on my—"

"For god's sake, Logan!" Spider-Man said, flustered.

* * *

Peter took off his mask. He still laid in his bed. He tried to listen to the wind and heard the dim sound of a bike. The sound faded, indicating his two partners were gone. Peter sighed. He wondered how they managed to bring him here, holding him in a bike while he was unconscious. Then, the real question hit Peter.

 _How did they get me into my apartment?_

Peter face-palmed. It was rather an easy question. They climbed, from the wall. Giving a sigh, Peter took out his phone. It had survived the scuffle and Peter could have cried right now. He checked the time and saw it was close to midnight.

"Well, I think I will sleep here today. Honestly, I don't want to move."

His wounds flared from time to time. Logan had brought some painkillers with him, but Peter didn't like them. It made him feel too groggy in the mornings. He decided to let sleep do the work.

Before he fell into sleep, he had an idea. He started to press a few buttons on his phone with a smile.

* * *

The sound of the engine rattled the seat. The road passed by in a blur. New York was left behind a small light in the dark of the night. Laura sat at the back, her hair starting to dry in the wind. Logan sat driving his bike back to Bayville.

"Sorry, Laura," Logan started. "I wanted you to have a peaceful time and I just brought you to one."

Laura enhanced hearing made her hear him clearly along with the regret in his voice. "No, Logan, you didn't know so it doesn't matter. And it was not so bad."

"Yeah, Spider-Man is nice, isn't he?"

"Yes—wait, no. I didn't mean him," Laura said indignant.

Logan rolled his eyes at her denial. He then felt a vibration in his jacket's pocket. "Laura, your phone is ringing."

Laura fished out the phone from Logan's pocket. A mail attached with a picture was sent to her. Her eyes grew wide and a gentle smile formed on her face.

"What is it, Laura?"

Instead of answering Logan, Laura showed him the phone. "Damn, that is something."

"It's beautiful," Laura said and read the text:

 _Hope this one makes up for the bad trip, Laura. ;3_

"Idiot."

* * *

After sending the picture, Peter closed his eyes trying to fall asleep. He then heard the police sirens call. He sat up as the sounds intensified and receded into the night. It was still raining.

"Maybe… just this once… I will sleep…"

Peter started to fall asleep. "Yeah, just this once… I shall rest."

 **The End**

 **A/N: Thank you for reading my story. Please do review and share!**


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